The Indiana Hoosiers have had a lot of first this season. They were ranked No. 1 for the first time program history, the Hoosiers won the Big Ten Championship for the first time in the common eera of college football, quarterback Fernando Mendoza won the first ever Heisman Trophy in Indiana football hisotry, Curt Cignetti won AP Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons, and finally they jsut added another one to the list.
Curt Cignetti and his Indiana squad became the first team in the 12-team College Football Playoff to win a game after having the first-round bye. Before the Hoosiers took on Alabama in the Rose Bowl, teams with the first-round bye were 0-6, including losses by Ohio State and Texas Tech on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
Many believe the first-round bye was becoming a curse, but Indiana just proved it doesn't have to be. Here were the scores of teams with a first-round in their first game before Indiana's win:
2024-2025
- No. 5 Texas beat No. 4 Arizona State 39-31
- No. 8 Ohio State beat No. 1 Oregon 41-21
- No. 6 Penn State beat No. 3 Boise State 31-14
- No. 7 Notre Dame beat No. 2 Georgia 23-10
2025-2026
- No. 10 Miami beat No. 2 Ohio State 24-14
- No. 5 Oregon beat No. 4 Texas Tech 23-0
Indiana completely dismantles Alabama to break first-round bye curse
Indiana took down Alabama 38-3 in what was the first time these teams had ever met. This marks the first time Indiana has won a bowl game since 1991. This is a Hoosiers football program that was never really supposed to find success, but head coach Curt Cignetti has come in a created a culture of winning at this basketball school.
Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza got off to a slow start, but once the Hoosiers got in rhythm, there was no stopping them. Granted, Alabama ended up losing starting quarterback Ty Simpson to injury in the second half, but it felt like even then, the game was already over.
Indiana will now meet Oregon in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, which is set to be played on January 9 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.